When Love Turns Sideways
by princeofthewildthings
Summary: Dick is injured. Damian is itching for revenge.  Based off of an on-going roleplay with a friend of mine
1. The Warehouse

Damian groaned softly, the sound rasping out of his dry throat. His vision blurred and swam at first, as the boy looked up. It was cold in the warehouse; his nose and cheeks were dusted with pink. The Joker's voice was a buzz at first. He must have been knocked out be debris in an explosion earlier... His head was throbbing slightly, so it was the probable cause.

"You _chickies_ just keep getting in my way!" Joker growled, a switchblade waving dangerously close to Nightwing's bruised face. Nightwing seemed out of it himself, as his chin dipped toward his chest. Ropes wrapped around the former Robin's wrists and ankles.

Damian sat forward, the ropes around his wrists creaked from the new pressure. "Hey clown-face! Watch where you're waving that knife!" Damian's childish attempt to sound tough faltered as his voice cracked and broke. His throat felt so dry. How long had he been sitting here, in this dark warehouse?

Joker looked over his shoulder, a crazed expression slowly breaking and reforming into the biggest grin. "Oh look, little birdie is awake!" He crossed his arms, continuing to flourish the knife in the air, near his own body, as he spoke. Dick was breathing hard behind him, almost as if he were dry heaving. The sound made the hair on the back of Damian's neck stand on end.

He focused on Joker again when the criminal walked toward him. "...so, you see, you're tied up. I don't need to listen to a little _brat_ like you." Robin's eyes narrowed as the man spat the words in his face, invading that bubble of personal space. "Let's have some _fun_, shall we?" The Joker's voice had taken on an amused tone again. Loose dirt and gravel crunched as Damian squirmed in the chair he'd been left sitting on.

Joker got close to Nightwing, bending at the waist and placing a hand on his knee, much like a parent would when talking to a child. He tilted his head and smiled fiendishly. The one light that was on in the large space cast menacing shadows . "Pay attention, birdie, you're the star of this act. A good actor always faces his audience." That free hand was suddenly tangled in Nightwing's hair, jerking his head up so that he looked at Damian. Damian's teeth clenched.

_Some touching him. Stop touching Grayson._

Joker stepped back, spinning away on his heel as Dick smiled weakly at Damian, trying to reassure him that everything would be okay. That the others would find them.

The green-haired man turned back to Dick again, quickly, having thought out his next course of action. The switchblade sliced through the air, splitting the skin of Dick's right cheek. Nightwing let out a choked noise, turning his face away quickly as the blade nicked his ear.

Damian's body jerked forward, his mouth opening uselessly as a startled noise creaked out of him. For a split second, his only thought in the world was that of Dick's safety. Not of the crazed man standing mere feet way, not of Batman, or anyone else that was looking for them.

The chill air split with another cackle as Joker glanced toward Damian. "What's this, brotherly love? Or is it something more?" He looked between the two younger males, considering the idea. He seemed to believe his own accusation. "Oh, that's _rich_!"

The knife was slipped into a pocket of Joker's coat before he bent down, grabbing a new weapon. Damian felt sick as the metal scraped over the concrete floor, loudly. Joker probably meant for this to happen, for some amount of dramatic flair.

It was a large crowbar, much like what Jason had been broken with, by this criminal.

The young Robin could only watch in horror, writhing and fighting with his bonds as the crowbar swung through the air. A sickening thud rang in Damian's ears, echoed by Dick's strangled cry of pain. If it had been anyone else - Bruce or Drake, he would have been able to think clearly. But this was Dick, his partner in crime fighting, and the man that warmed his bed at night.

The crowbar was brought down against Dick's body repeatedly, breaking and bruising his body. Dick yelped and grunted with each blow, his muscular body contorting and twisting, trying to get away from the metal bar. Damian howled at Joker to stop as the crazed man laughed hysterically. Tears slid down Robin's cheeks. The emotion displayed on his face was a far cry from the typical stoic expression that Damian wore.

Dick, in spite of the crushing beating he was taking, was thinking of Damian's safety. He'd be damned if Damian was going to be hurt.

"Robin, get out!" Nightwing choked, lifting his hip into a swing of the crowbar. His hip fractured from the impact, a howl leaving Dick's lips. A small, circular knife cut through the air toward Damian, sticking into the wooden chair. Damian squirmed, reaching through the bars of the chair's backing to grab the knife. He began cutting at the ropes, flicking his wrist quickly. His eyes now focused on Joker, intense and angry as the tears dried on his cheeks.

The man was not going to leave here alive. He wanted him cold and dead. He would make it so.

These desires went against everything he'd been taught as a Robin.

Damian got free, standing up from the chair as Joker raised the crowbar, aiming for Nightwing's skull. A flash of black, billowing fabric cut into the scene. Joker crumpled on the ground as Bruce landed on his feet. The tall man looked toward his son, speaking in a monotone voice.

"Robin! Stay here with Nightwing. An ambulance is on the way."

Bruce knew Damian and Dick had a thing going on. He couldn't say he approved, since they were practically family, but he didn't see the profit in breaking up their relationship. Damian was enough trouble for all of them as it was, and Batman had a soft spot for his former Robin.

Batman took off after Joker, fading away into the dark of the night.

Damian crouched down beside Nightwing, looking over his broken body. He was afraid to touch him. A helpless look crossed his face as Dick moaned and glanced up at him. Damian wasn't sure if Dick was actually looking at him, or just staring through him.

A raspy breath heaved out of Dick's chest. "Damian...untie me...please..."

Damian was quick to respond, cutting the ropes as flashing lights lit up the exterior of the warehouse. He looked up as a team of paramedics hurried in to help them.

Dick looked toward Damian out of the corner of his eye, once he was loaded on a stretcher. A faint smile parting his busted lips from under the oxygen mask he was wearing. Damian didn't take any comfort from the reassuring gesture. One last glance was taken at the forgotten crowbar before Damian followed the crew.

This was _not_ over.


	2. Disinfectant

Machines beeped and clicked and whirred as Damian sat on a bench in the hospital. He was now dressed in casual clothing, having been examined for injuries. His head was swimming with the images he'd been exposed to earlier that night. He coughed slightly as the acidic bite of bile coated the back of his tongue.

The images quickly cleared away when a pair of generic sneakers stopped in front of him. Everyone here wore the same damn shoes. He looked up toward the owner of the sneakers, met by his mother's face. She smiled kindly at him, an almost pitying look on her face. Damian frowned, his brows pushing toward the center and forming a crease in the skin.

"We've tended to Dick's injuries, he's resting now, do you may see him as long as you don't upset him. He won't be fighting crime for a while, Da-"

Damian was out of the chair and pushing past the woman as soon as he had confirmation that he could see Dick.

He was at the room within minutes, rounding the corner and stepping inside. Dick laid there, still, as the machines around the bed clicked and whirred. His eyes were shut until Damian got near the bed. The young Robin swallowed thickly as those kind eyes fluttered open and focused on him.

A lazy smile slowly lifted the corners of Dick's mouth. "Hey baby bird…" Damian's cheeks flushed lightly at the sound of the familiar pet name. The gap between them was quickly closed before Damian looked down at him, pressing his lips together.

He wanted to scold the older man for getting hurt like he did.

For smiling at him like that while he was laying in the hospital, in such a state.

For the fact that he would simply let this incident go, like he'd been taught to do.

"Dick…" Damian managed, his eyes traveling over the man's broken body as he leaned against the side rail of the hospital bed. Everything smelled of disinfectant. He hated the smell.

Nightwing's smile broadened, happy to finally hear his first name roll off of his lover's tongue. Damian always, always called him Grayson.

Damian sucked in a breath, broken away from the ideas of what he would do once he got Joker, when he felt a weak tug on his sweater. His eyes had been focused on the blankets covering Dick's body. He looked at Dick's battered face again. The sick feeling rolled over him again, something like seasickness.

"Give me a kiss…" The request was gentle, a hopeful tone to it as Dick looked up at Damian expectantly. The boy was fickle, and Dick knew that. He couldn't wrestle him down and kiss the fourteen year-old like he wanted, right now.

Much to Nightwing's relief, Damian consented after a moment, bending down to kiss his lips gently. The older man groaned softly, taking a deep breath through his nose as the oxygen tube fed it into his system. One hand gently played with the hair at the base of Damian's neck.

Nothing could make him stop loving Damian and wanting to be close to him.

Damian straightened up, looking down at Nightwing. A surprised grunt escaped the boy as he felt a hand palming his ass.

"mmm…good. That's still intact." Dick smiled up at Damian before the boy scolded him.

"Could you be serious right now? You're in the _hospital_, Grayson." He huffed, placing Dick's hand back on the bed. Nightwing laughed softly, wincing as it jarred his injuries.

"Okay…okay, sorry." A thoughtful look clouded Dick's eyes. Damian stared at him in silence for a moment, waiting for the older male to speak up.

"You're okay, right?" There was genuine concern in Dick's voice. Damian pushed Dick's hand back down when the man tried to reach up and stroke his cheek.

Damian's hands balled into fists as he looked away, like an angered child.

"I watched Joker beat the _shit_ out of you, Grayson. How could I be _okay_?" He snapped. After taking a moment to count to ten and try to calm down, Damian looked at Dick again. His expression was frighteningly calm.

"He's going to pay for what he did." There was a sharp bite to the boy's words that made his intent clear. Nightwing's expression turned serious, his mouth setting in a straight line.

"Don't go after him with revenge in mind, Damian… Things can get really fucked up…"

Damian shoved his hands deep into his pockets, his irritation growing.

"Things are _already_ fucked up. I can't just accept that it happened and let it go. I want him _dead_." He muttered under his breath, flinching away as Dick rubbed a thumb over the boy's lower lip.

"You don't have to be okay with it. Just don't go beat on him because of it." The injured man's voice sounded heavy, tired, as another hit of morphine fed into his body from a machine. Damian looked at him again, simply frowning and pulling up at chair.

"Get some sleep." The boy mumbled as he sat down beside the bed. His arms propped up on the railing, head laying over them as he kept an eye on Nightwing.

The boy rarely admitted it, and when he did, it was behind closed doors. But, he loved Grayson more than anything in the world - except for his kitten. That was a toss up.

Dick smiled gently and closed his eyes, happy that the other would stay beside him.

"_I love you Damian Wayne…and don't you forget it…_"


End file.
